Over the years, commercial car wash facilities have become quite prevalent. These facilities range anywhere from fully automatic car wash systems to do-it-yourself systems. In a typical automatic car wash system, the driver either remains in the car or leaves the car and waits while it is automatically pulled through the car wash. Automatic system typically wash, rinse, dry and, at the driver's option, wax the car. On the other hand, do-it-yourself systems, as the name implies, require that the driver park the car in a stall and wash the car him or herself. These do-it-yourself systems provide the ingredients and tools necessary to wash the car. The person washing the car usually uses a wand to apply the ingredients and the water under both high and low pressure.
One problem associated with many automatic car wash systems found in the prior art is that they use brushes to clean cars. Many people will not take their car to this type of car wash because of their concern that the brushes may scratch the car's paint finish. Another problem associated with some automatic systems, and many types of do-it-yourself car wash systems, is that they use a highpressure water spray to clean cars instead of brushes or sponges. While these high-pressure systems are less likely to scratch a car's finish than are systems that use brushes, they are also less effective in removing film from the car's finish. Films, such as salt spray and oil, are usually not removed by the high pressure spray. Unfortunately, if not removed, these films, especially salt spray, can damage the car's finish.
Another problem associated with automatic and do-it-yourself car wash systems found in the prior art is that they use a substantial amount of water for each car washed. In some automatic systems, this is caused, in part, because the amount of water used in preset at an amount sufficient to wash large cars and trucks, which results in water wastage when smaller cars are washed. Water wastage is also a common occurrence in do-it-yourself systems. Most of these systems are coin-operated, which requires the person to purchase system time by inserting an appropriate number of coins in the system. Obviously, if the person overestimates the time needed to wash the car, water may be wasted. In any event, both the automatic and do-it-yourself systems of the prior art are susceptible to excessive water use.
Another problem associated with automatic and do-it-yourself car wash facilities is that a person must take the car (or other vehicle) to the facility to get it washed. While the person is waiting for the car to be washed, in the case of an automatic system, or while the person washes the car, in the ease of a do-it-yourself system, the person, in most cases, is prevented from performing other tasks. A portable car wash system that could be taken to a person's car and wash the car while that person performed some other activity would alleviate this problem. Unfortunately, prior art portable car washes are typically large and cumbersome. Many types of these portable car washes are truck mounted, which makes it difficult to use them in confined areas, such as parking lots, for example. Further, many prior art portable systems require connections to external sources of water, compressed air, and/or electricity, which makes it difficult to use them in remote areas, again such as in a large parking lot.
Another type of portable car wash system found in the prior art is a do-it-yourself attachment for the end of a garden hose. In addition to supplying water to the car, the attachment usually permits soap or wax to also be applied. One problem associated with this type of attachment is that it requires an external supply of water and, thus, the car must be located near a source of water, such as an outdoor spigot, for example. Another problem with these attachments is that they deliver water to the car at a relatively low pressure and, as a result, may not be completely effective in removing dirt and film from the car.
As can be readily appreciated from the foregoing discussion, there is a need for an efficient, portable car wash system that can be used in congested areas, such as parking lots. Ideally, such a system would permit washing a parked car without wetting adjacent cars. Such a system would permit the drivers of the washed cars to go about their business while their car is being washed in the parking lot. Further, the system should effectively remove dirt and film from the car. This invention is directed to a compact, high-efficiency, portable car wash system that achieves these results.